When Cheyenne City Councilman Tom Segrave steps onto his front porch in the evenings to unwind after a long day, the tranquility seldom lasts long.
His home off Yellowstone Road faces the busy street, where groups of loud motorcycles — what he calls "crotch rockets" — race up and down starting on Thursday nights and continuing through the weekend.
"You can't talk to anybody," Segrave said, describing the scene from his deck 200 yards away from the road. "I mean, that's how loud it is."
He's counted as many as a dozen motorcycles at a time screaming past his house, their modified exhaust systems drowning out any attempt at conversation. The noise often jolts him awake at 3:30 in the morning, even with windows closed.
For four years, Segrave said he’s unsuccessfully lobbied for more traffic enforcement on Yellowstone Road and other noisy streets, which get louder when the sun goes down.
Now, Cheyenne's City Council is taking action with a new draft ordinance that borrows language from Fort Collins, Colorado, to address what has become the No. 1 complaint from residents: excessively loud vehicles.
The ordinance is advancing to a subcommittee with what Segrave characterized as unanimous support from his fellow council members ahead of any vote.
The proposed solution isn't limited to traditional enforcement.
A University of New Mexico professor has developed innovative "sound-camera" technology specifically designed to catch vehicles producing excessive noise — a tool that could eventually supplement Cheyenne's efforts to restore peace and quiet.
Loud Gatherings
Cheyenne City Councilman Scott Roybal told Cowboy State Daily excessive vehicle noise ranks as the top challenge of the moment, rivaled only by perennial gripes about potholes.
The problem extends beyond residential streets. Downtown's Jack Spiker Parking Garage — named after Cheyenne's former mayor — has become an infamous gathering spot for modified Subarus, diesel trucks and motorcycles.
"They get up there and they get to revving, and it reverberates," Roybal said. The sound echoes through the structure, disturbing downtown residents at all hours.
In June, a motorcycle crashed into a concrete wall after the rider was "revving his bike up and something snapped,” said Roybal. The incident highlighted the ongoing chaos that has plagued the facility, with nearby business owners describing it as a "nightmare."
A resident from the Dell Range Road area on the south side of the city recently approached Roybal at a grocery store to complain about the noise keeping residents awake "all hours of the night."
The councilman believes summer brings out the worst behavior, though cars and trucks with modified exhaust systems are revving up and down city streets year-round. Some use them to “blow coal” — slang for hitting the accelerator and discharging thick flumes of diesel exhaust.
Bad Name
Even diehard car enthusiasts in Cheyenne are saying enough is enough with the deafening motor noise.
Phil Haberman, president of the Cheyenne Rods and Custom Car Club, owns a 2001 Corvette that’s so loud he only drives it at racetracks.
Haberman told Cowboy State Daily he supports the city's efforts to establish noise limits.
"People say, ‘Oh, you're a car guy, so you like loud things that go fast.’ And it's not true. The vast majority of car enthusiasts are respectful, law-abiding people," Haberman said.
He knows firsthand the temptation of loud exhaust systems — as a young man, he installed a "glass pack" muffler on his 1976 Camaro to amplify the sound. But he didn’t rumble around town in the middle of the night and stir his neighbors from their slumber.
"At races that I go to, some of them have sound limits,” added Haberman. “There's a threshold that you have to keep your car noise under. They have a monitoring device. As you go by the device, someone writes down your decibel.”
The first time a car’s engine goes over the accepted decibel level, “You get a talking to and the second time you're out," Haberman explained.
While traditional car clubs hold organized meetings and follow established protocols, younger enthusiasts rely on social media to coordinate impromptu gatherings at locations like the downtown parking garage, said Haberman.
"It's really easy to say, ‘Hey, let's get together at this point, at this time and then everybody instantly knows where to go," Haberman said.
Sound Camera Tech
Dr. Nick Ferenchak lived the problem before he revved up his professional chops and tried to solve it.
As an assistant professor of civil engineering at the University of New Mexico, Ferenchak endured nightly disruptions from loud vehicles on his busy Albuquerque street, getting woken up "three times every single night."
"We said, that's not right," Ferenchak recalled.
After researching local ordinances and finding noise violations were already illegal but rarely enforced, he had an inspiration: "We've got automated speed cameras and automated red-light cameras. Why not have an automated noise camera?"
Seven years later, Ferenchak's company, Not-A-Loud, has developed sophisticated sound measurement technology that he hopes will revolutionize noise enforcement. The system continuously monitors decibel levels, and when vehicles exceed preset thresholds, it simultaneously captures license plate photos and wide-angle video of the violation.
"If the decibel level does not exceed that threshold, then nothing happens. But as soon as that decibel threshold is exceeded, then we've got two cameras," Ferenchak explained. The high-resolution license plate camera can capture plates on vehicles traveling up to 90 miles per hour.
However, legal hurdles have prevented widespread adoption. When asked about potential privacy issues, Ferenchak acknowledged the concerns. "When you're looking at automated speed, automated red light, you're just capturing a picture of the vehicle.
“But when we're actually looking at noise, then you could be picking up people's conversations or something like that. So there's an extra layer of privacy concerns and I think that's kind of been the hold up."
The technology has captured some memorable violations during pilot programs. In Santa Fe over Christmas, Ferenchak's camera repeatedly caught the same driver making 90-decibel passes through the historic plaza area between midnight and 3 a.m. on Christmas morning.
"You got to be kidding," Ferenchak said of the Christmas morning disturbances.
Contrary to expectations, Ferenchak found motorcycles weren't the primary culprits in Santa Fe.
"I suspected it was going to be a lot of motorcycles and souped up sports cars and that kind of thing. But at least here in New Mexico — and maybe Wyoming would be the same — but it's a lot of pickup trucks. Diesel pickup trucks."
New York City has become the first major municipality to issue citations using similar noise camera technology, and Ferenchak expects the legal precedent to encourage broader adoption.
His team has spoken with about 75 different cities, and he’s hoping one might soon pull the trigger and contract with his company.
Cities and towns aren’t the only potential customers for Not-A-Loud. In fact, the Santa Fe installation was organized by a coalition of hotel owners dealing with noise complaints from guests.
Graduated Penalties
The proposed ordinance creates specific standards for determining violations and establishes escalating financial consequences for repeat offenders. According to the draft ordinance, "No person shall make, continue to make, or cause any unreasonable noise originating in or from any vehicle."
The ordinance defines "unreasonable noise" as "any sound, by volume or duration, that is or tends to be injurious to human health or welfare, or which unreasonably interferes with the quiet enjoyment of life or property."
Peace officers would be empowered to make determinations based on several factors, including "the time of day at which the noise occurs," "the location where the vehicle is being operated," and "the operation of a vehicle with equipment improperly installed, removed or otherwise altered so as to produce unreasonable noise."
The financial penalties escalate significantly for repeat violations. First-time offenders face fines between $100 and $200, while second offenses within 12 months carry penalties of $250 to $300. Third-time offenders within a year face the steepest consequences: fines between $400 and $500, potential jail time up to six months, or both.
David Madison can be reached at david@cowboystatedaily.com.
